Collaborate: /kəˈlæb əˌreɪt/ verb: to work, one with another; cooperate.
It’s the word that newly inaugurated San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has put forth often to identify his approach to governing the City. When he was sworn in before a crowd of more than a thousand at the Center for Performing Arts, the new Mayor seemed a bit rattled by an unavoidable change in plans, after his planned keynote speaker, former Mayor Norm Mineta, was stuck on the east coast because of bad weather. In his inaugural address, the collaborative theme continued, but seemed to miss some marks…in a very distinctive way.
To begin with, Mayor Liccardo acknowledged and thanked the last 4 mayors who preceded him, three of whom directly consulted on his campaign. But somewhere also in the room was the man who garnered clearly half of the support of San Jose voters in the race against Liccardo, and Supervisor Dave Cortese was not mentioned. Not once. It was a golden opportunity to acknowledge Cortese for the huge swath of support he drew in the race, to reach across the aisle and be conciliatory. It was a perfect time to talk to Cortese supporters about collaboration, working together for the future of San Jose. It was a golden opportunity missed, not to mention a disrespectful exclusion.
The four new city council members took the oath of office, each sworn in by a meaningful figure in their lives. And the oath was given to the new mayor by Judge LaDoris Cordell, the City’s Independent Police Auditor. As a figure whose strained relationship with the police is no secret, it sent a strong message to a dwindling police force suffering from a severe lack of confidence in the City administration.
As for his agenda, Mayor Liccardo should be different than City Council Member Liccardo but you didn’t see the signs in this speech, which could have been given by any Republican. It’s clear Liccardo wants to stay the course he’s followed under Chuck Reed both with pension reform and his overall approach to governing as evidenced by his first two actions before even taking office (re: Shikada and Matthews). And while he took the opportunity, (as in photo opportunity,) to show his concern for homelessness, if his approach to resolving the severe economic inequality in Silicon Valley is any indication of his leadership in that area our expectations are indeed low. The suggestion of public library computers as career training centers would seem a vivid indication of a disappointing tenure.
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